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iOS 5: top 5 secrets you never saw coming
Bingo: three suspects arrested in connection with PlayStation Network attack
Android Market update adds app compatibility, still needs work
Crystal Acoustics MediaMatchbox: credit card set top box plays HD video
Codemasters hacking alert: your personal information has been compromised!
The Microsoft App Guy looks awfully familiar…
DigiTimes: 60 percent of white-box tablets will be 7-inch models in 2011
Video: Watch how an Angry Birds level is made
Motorola Photon 4G: world’s first Tegra 2, WiMax-enabled international Android smartphone
Apple steps up to the plate and intervenes in Lodsys lawsuit

iOS 5: top 5 secrets you never saw coming

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 10:55 AM PDT

Hidden within the beta build of iOS 5 are grand plans to transform the OS from a contender to trendsetter. Arguably, some of the features making headlines are not Apple originals, but instead draw from the foundations creation by Windows Phone, Android and even BlackBerry OS. With more than 200 new features headed to the OS there's bound to be overlap. Here's 5 secrets iOS 5 is bringing to the table.

1. 1080p system wide
A fifth generation iPhone has been rumored extensively at this point. As is customary with Apple's smartphone, the next-gen iPhone will use the same chipset in the iPad which in this case is the A5 dual-core processor. A considerable advantage the A5 chip offers over its predecessor is 1080p support. iOS 5 taps into this hardware by offering video exports in apps in full HD 1080p. As you might imagine, this is in addition to 1080p playback both on and out of the device.

2. Twitter is the just the start
Liz Gannes from All Things D was the first to announce iOS 5 may support more than just Twitter integration. Screenshots, leaked by the writer, show Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn and Myspace as other 'custom' services may be baked into the core. Ms. Gannes believes Twitter is only the tip of the iceburg.

3. iOS 5 plays nice with Bluetooth audio devices
Smartphones have become integral parts of our car audio systems. With the advent of Bluetooth becoming a near standard feature in new vehicles, iOS 5 prepares to exploit the opportunity. You can now share your music over Bluetooth from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, complete with album, track and artist data.

4. Alerts, customized for hearing impaired
A minor annoyance in iOS has been the lack of control over alerts. With the advent of the Notification Center, we now have more control than ever over our iOS devices. Beyond the control over which programs notify in the banner area and lock screens, we will soon be able to set 'Custom Vibrations'. As the name suggests, 'Custom Vibrations' will allow unique vibration patterns to be assigned to people in Contacts or all at once. In addition, you can now set LED Flash for Alerts, mono audio, and even control the left/right balance.

5. Your phone, your gestures
The iPad will be the single largest benefactor of iOS 5 gesture support. Using either four or five fingers you can now swipe at the bottom of the screen to reveal the multi-tasking menu or at the top to view alerts. In addition, swiping left and right will navigate between your open applications. While these are certainly great additions, Apple is also including custom gesture support to interact with adaptive accessories. There's a panel to create custom gestures baked right inside iOS 5.

Bingo: three suspects arrested in connection with PlayStation Network attack

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 09:43 AM PDT

The long arm of the law knows no bounds. Spanish police are reporting the arrest of three suspects accused in last month's PlayStation Network hack. Taking down the network for nearly a month and compromising more than 80 million user accounts will lead to quite a lengthy wrap sheet.

The three suspects, all part of the #Anonymous hacker group, were leaders in Barcelona, Alicante and Almeria. By rather unconventional means the Spanish police broke the news on its Twitter page, "Spanish Police dismantle the #Anonymous hacker group in Spain. They attacked #PlayStation Store".

Think the fun stops here? Not exactly. The suspects are also believed to be connected to hacking attacks on banks BBVA and Bankia, utility ENEL and the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Lybia, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand. Oh well for thinking there we no malicious motives behind stealing that credit card data.

Today's arrests follow last week's FBI take down of an accused LulzSec member believed to be part of the attacks on Sony BMG, Sony Pictures and Nintendo USA's website. June is turning out to be a terrible month for hackers and without a doubt you can expect more arrests to follow. Anonymous had these parting words to say in light of today's arrests, "Dear @policia, Expect us. #Anonymous."

via Kotaku

Android Market update adds app compatibility, still needs work

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 08:15 AM PDT

The Android Market is a work in progress. Yesterday Google updated its application store to include a list compatible handsets beneath each title. Although screening was previously available while browsing on an Android smartphone, the update is particularly useful for those who browse and install via the web store.

Unfortunately Google made one major omission with the update. They forgot to include a filter for Honeycomb apps. As an Android tablet owner I cannot begin to explain my frustration in finding quality Honeycomb-optimized apps. We are no closer to solving the issue today than we were several months ago when 3.0 launched.

The update Google has made to the Android Market is a shift in the right direction, but much like iOS 5 — it's a necessary step. Let's hope Google steps up to the plate and throws Honeycomb users a bone with a simple filter.

via TFTS

Crystal Acoustics MediaMatchbox: credit card set top box plays HD video

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT

This is just getting silly now. The Crystal Acoustics MediaMatchBox is a HD digital media player that’s even smaller than its last effort, the Pico HD 5.1. This one’s the size of a credit card – but it does even more.

Like the Pico HD, the Crystal Acoustics MediaMatchbox boasts support for SD/MMC cards and USB memory sticks, and comes with its own remote. It’s now even smaller, measuring just 85mm across, but still pumps out 1080p video with subtitle support and offers FAT, FAT32 and NTFS hard drive support.

Crystal Acoustics says it also supports more formats, HD audio passthrough and comes with navigation buttons on the device itself, should you lose the remote. If you acquire your movies and TV shows thorugh “dubious” means, it’s yours for £49.99, and sounds like a match made in Heaven.

The Crystal Acoustics MediaMatchbox isn’t on the official website just yet, but we’ve confirmed it will be on sale through it in July. In the meantime, that format support list in full:

MKV, AVI, TS/TP, MP4/MPV, MOV, VOB, RM, MPG, M2TS, MTS, FLV, WMV, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, DVIX, H.264, H.263, WMV / VC-1, RMVB, AVC HD, WMV9, BD-ISO, DVD-ISO, MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, APE, AAC, AC3, DTS, WAV, JPEG, BMP, MJPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF

Codemasters hacking alert: your personal information has been compromised!

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 07:41 AM PDT

It appears Codemasters has a lot more in common with the PlayStation Network than we previously suspected. The company is now the proud owner of a major data breach, resulting in all customer information being compromised.

If you're a Codemaster's customer, the computer games publisher should be sending out an email alerting you of the unauthorized entry which affected codemasters.com, both corporate and sub-domains, DiRT3 vip code redemption page and the Codemaster's EStore.

Now for the rub, here's the complete list of possible data comprised by the hacker(s): Members' names, usernames, screen names, email addresses, date of birth, encrypted passwords, newsletter preferences, any biographies entered by users, details of last site activity, IP addresses and Xbox Live Gamertags.

The company says that its website will remain offline "for the foreseeable future with all codemasters.com traffic re-directed to the Codemaster's Facebook page instead. A new website will launch alter in the year".

If you have any concerns (and we imagine you do), direct all questions and comments to Codemaster's Customer Services teams. You can reach the team by emailing them at custservice@codemaster.com.

Via BitterWallet

The Microsoft App Guy looks awfully familiar…

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 07:32 AM PDT

Meet the Microsoft App Guy, Redmond’s new mascot to help developers port their Android apps over to Windows Phone 7. Microsoft’s clearly taken a leaf out of Google’s book by using an adorable emblem for its OS, but wait a second – doesn’t he look kind of familiar?

Well, Washington does share a border with Canada, we suppose…

Following on from Microsoft’s iPhone porting package, the software giant is now luring Android devs with a similar treatment, explaining step by step how apps can be converted to run on Windows Phone.

Its Windows Phone 7 Guide for Android Application Developers white paper is stuffed with 90 pages explaining which APIs work with which and whatnot. Really though, we just wanted to publish this picture.

DigiTimes: 60 percent of white-box tablets will be 7-inch models in 2011

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 07:15 AM PDT

Steve Jobs might not fancy the 7-inch tablet craze, but apparently Chinese manufacturers producing white-box tablets have a different take. Figures released by industry insider DigiTimes report 7-inch models will account for 60 percent of output in 2011.

Following the 7-inch tablets will be 8-inch models at 15 percent and 9.7-inch models at 10 percent. Research shows that consumers in China are more sensitive to price and favor products with high performance to price ratio. As a result, 7-inch models now attract the most attention.

Yesterday we saw Dell target China with its Streak 10 Pro, a 10-inch Android tablet coming to China this summer. Apparently they didn’t' get the memo? The biggest hurdle preventing outside players from competing in China's 7-inch tablet scene is price.

White-box tablets can be had for considerably cheaper than big name competitors. Unfortunately even with low pricing, increased labor and material costs combined with the increasing exchange rate of the Chinese Yuan are damaging gross margins. As a result you can expect an influx of white-box tablets headed to Europe and the U.S. very soon.

via DigiTimes

Video: Watch how an Angry Birds level is made

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:54 AM PDT

We all love Angry Birds. At least, 100million people on this here planet do anyway, which by our calculation means that there’s a one in sixty chance that you’re going to love this video.

OK, maybe the odds are a lot higher – read on to see it anyway and watch Rovio’s lead designer explaining just how a level is put together.

MailChimp has published a fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary on Rovio, the Finnish company behind the Angry Birds franchise. As well as featuring an interview with CEO Niklas Hed and some never-before-seen merchandise (Angry Birds baseballs?) it shows the developer’s chief designer whipping a level on Angry Birds Rio.

Skip to 3:08 to watch him do his thing: it’s remarkably easy, though of course the original physics engine doubtless wasn’t. Has Rovio tapped into an river of gold?

Motorola Photon 4G: world’s first Tegra 2, WiMax-enabled international Android smartphone

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:17 AM PDT

The Motorola Atrix has a new friend, the Photon 4G. Destined for a release in the U.S. on Sprint's WiMax network, this Tegra 2-powered smartphone runs Android 2.3 and packs the Tegra 2 punch of its fellow super phones.

What separates the Photon 4G from the pack is that it's an international phone, ready to play nice on GSM networks worldwide while at the same time WiMax friendly for the states. With a kickstand like the EVO 4G and the latest build of Android Gingerbread, say hello to the new heavyweight contender.

Unlike the 4-inch display on the Motorola Atrix, the Photon 4G ups the ante by offering a 4.3-inch qHD display. The kickstand on the back makes watching movies on the go a breeze as does the ample 1GB of RAM. While you're on the go you can use the mobile hotspot feature to connect up to 8 devices simultaneously.

Unlike most of its competitors, HTC has decided to forgo the high-resolution front-facing camera and instead uses a VGA camera like the iPhone 4. On the rear is an 8-megapixel shooter, capable of capturing 720p HD video. Like all Tegra 2 smartphones, the Photon 4G supports up to 1080p put via its HDMI port.

Other highlights to the Motorola Photon 4G include webtop support for Motorola's docking accessory, a microSD card slot (32GB max) and a massive 1700 mAh battery. With this much juice you can expect up to 10 hours of CDMA calling, 9.1 hours of WCDMA or 10.4 hours of GSM calling. The Photon 4G lands on Sprint's network this summer.

Summer | Sprint | TBD

Apple steps up to the plate and intervenes in Lodsys lawsuit

Posted: 10 Jun 2011 05:37 AM PDT

iOS developers currently targeted by Lodsys now have a new friend, Apple. The company has come out of the woodwork to put its legal weight behind its developers. The real question is whether Google will follow suit and extend the same courtesy to Android developers?

Apple's support began yesterday when the Cupertino-based company filed a motion with the Eastern District of Texas to intervene as defendants in a lawsuit from Lodsys that targets seven iOS developers. Furthermore, Apple has presented a counterclaim which suggests its developers have the license rights to use the technology.

This is not the first time Apple has attempted to silence Lodsys. Last month the company responded by telling Lodsys that its licensing of the patents covered its developers too. Unfortunately those cries fell on deaf ears and now the battle will play out in court. Whatever the outcome, it's nice to see the legal support. Will the outcome of the case set precedent for Android developers hoping Google steps in to circumvent the lawsuit?

via Cnet

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Saturday, 11 June 2011

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